We have good news and better news: Welcome to Friday, intrepid innovators, and not just any Friday, but the precipice of Memorial Day weekend – the unofficial start of summer and, for most, a three-day blow to boot.
On that note, please excuse your missing Calendar Newsletter this Monday – Innovate Long Island will be back with fresh content Tuesday and your regularly scheduled June 1 newsletter, right in your inbox. Have a safe and happy holiday!
Grape nuts: Best flavor of Jolly Ranchers and popsicles, too.
Cover me: Before we get to all that BBQing, one more workday to work through – and on the subject of summer safety, we start with National Sunscreen Day, deflecting ultraviolent dangers this and every May 27 (and every sunny day, if you’re smart).
Prove us wrong: As every civilized being knows, grape is the greatest of the artificial flavors (in Italian ices, bubblegum, cough syrup, etc.) – making National Grape Popsicle Day a sort of crowning achievement of modern society.
Don’t agree? Play us a sad song – in tune with Old-Time Player Piano Day, also celebrated every May 27.
For Chrysler’s sake: Speaking of sad stories, New York City’s 77-story, 1,047-foot Chrysler Building – which opened to the public on this date in 1930 – enjoyed just one measly year as the world’s tallest building. (Bonus points if you know what skyscraper climbed past Chrysler – answer below, no Googling.)
Scotch rocks: Showing slightly more sticktoitiveness was Minnesota inventor Richard Drew, who patented “Scotch Cellulose Tape” (later marketed by 3M as Scotch Transparent Tape) on that same day – May 27, 1930.
Glass ceiling: Still the top of the line, cookware-wise.
Also patented on this date was Pyrex cookware, locked up in 1919 by Upstate New York inventors Eugene Sullivan and William Taylor. (Bonus points if you know where in Upstate New York the inventors lived – answer below, still no Googling.)
Golden arches: Turning from glassworks to steelworks, California’s Golden Gate Bridge opened to pedestrians 85 years ago today, through the teeth of the Great Depression.
The 4,200-foot suspension bridge connecting San Francisco and Marin County reigned 27 years as the world’s longest bridge. (Bonus points if you know what span supplanted the Golden Gate as world’s longest – answer below, stop Googling!)
Ghost rider: Designed specifically to intercept supersonic Soviet bombers, the higher, faster, deadlier McDonnell Aircraft (later McDonnell Douglas) F-4 Phantom II made its first flight on May 27, 1958.
C you real soon: And they were making love (not war) on this date in 1969, when construction officially began on the Walt Disney World theme park in Orlando, Fla.
Here’s Carson: American marine biologist, writer and conservationist Rachel Louise Carson (1907-1964) – whose influential “Silent Spring” and other works significantly advanced the global environmental movement – would be 115 years old today.
Source material: Predating the Renaissance (and cameras), Ibn Khaldūn got the ball rolling on modern sociology, economics and demography.
Also born on May 27 were Muslim Arab sociologist and philosopher Walī al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan Ibn Khaldūn (1332-1406), who (mercifully) went by “Ibn Khaldūn” and ranks as the greatest Arab historian; American tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877), the self-made “commodore” of 19th Century transportation; master German psychologist Karl Bühler (1879-1963), who really gave it some thought; American physicist William Hansen (1909-1949), who essentially founded microwave electronics; and American jazz great Dee Dee Bridgewater (born 1950), a multiple Grammy- and Tony-winner and longtime host of NPR’s “JazzSet.”
Oh, Henry! And take a bow, Henry Alfred Kissinger! The former U.S. secretary of state and national security advisor – a German-born U.S. citizen and Army veteran with a Bronze Star, a Nobel Peace Prize, a Presidential Medal of Freedom and numerous other accolades to his name – turns 99 today.
Wish the accomplished public servant well at editor@innovateli.com, where commitment to the common good often presents itself as news tips and calendar events.
New heights: The Empire State Building dunked on the Chrysler building’s world height record in 1931.
Glass class: Sullivan and Taylor hailed from Corning – and yes, Pyrex is kinda, sorta related to CorningWare.
Keeping you in suspension: The Golden Gate lost its world’s-longest crown to Long Island’s own Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which reached out and touched Staten Island in 1964.
About our sponsor: The Long Island Business Development Council has helped build the regional economy for 53 years by bringing together government and economic-development officials, developers, financial experts and others for education, debate and networking.
BUT FIRST, THIS
That’s Hollywood: No, It’s LGC Studios, hard at work on Island Federal Credit Union’s “Power of IF” campaign.
Show and Telly: A stalwart Long Island multimedia production company has snagged an astounding six trophies in the 43rd Annual Telly Awards.
Announced this week, the Telly Awards honor excellence in local, regional and cable television commercials, as well as non-broadcast video programming. Long Island is no stranger to the winner’s podium – for instance, the Melville-based EGC Group has collected an astonishing 42 Bronze and Silver Telly Awards since 2005, including a silver last year – but few single-year performances match the 2022 Telly tally amassed by Lorraine Gregory Communications.
The Edgewood marketing mecca and its LGC Studios won four awards (two Silver and two Bronze) for the Island Federal Credit Union “Power of IF” marketing campaign and two Silvers for a promotional video created for the Chrysalis Orchestra. “LGC Studios has upped their game again,” noted Lorraine Gregory Communications CEO Greg Demetriou. “Winning six Telly Awards is proof of the creativity and talent of the video team … (Director of Video Services) Rich Poggioli has established a world-class operation.”
Job search: The Town of Hempstead IDA and the Suffolk County IDA are trumpeting new tax-incentives deals with big employment gains.
Town of Hempstead IDA Chief Executive Officer Frederick Parola announced Thursday final approval of a 15-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes package for Prosperity Avenue Holdings, an LLC affiliated with Paul’s Auto Repair of Great Neck, which plans to renovate an 11,900-square-foot building on Commercial Avenue in Garden City. The $7 million renovation project will result in 30 full-time jobs within three years of completion, according to Parola, “not only generat[ing] economic growth … but also [providing] vocation training.”
The Suffolk IDA, meanwhile, has preliminarily approved a transaction benefitting 500 Broadhollow LLC, which is planning a four-story, 143-room, 103,555-square-foot hotel in Melville. The $39.3 million construction project is projected to create 32 full-time jobs and dozens of construction-phase jobs – justifying what Suffolk County IDA Executive Director Tony Catapano called a “significant” investment that “shows the region is rebounding from the hardships of the last two years.”
TOP OF THE SITE
‘Place’ marker: Seeking an enrollment surge, the New York Institute of Technology is blanketing Greater New York with a month-long multimedia marketing blitz.
Needs improvement: With several A’s, a bunch of B’s and even an F, the water quality off Long Island Sound beaches is all over the map, according to leading environmentalists.
Catch-up learning: Before Season 3 of “Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast” drops next month, review Seasons 1 and 2 – crackling with creative genius from the front lines of invention, industry and education.
ICYMI
Professional theater returns to Nassau County; disproportionate resources plague minority schools.
BEST OF THE WEST (AND SOMETIMES NORTH/SOUTH)
Innovate LI’s inbox overrunneth with inspirational innovations from all North American corners. This week’s brightest out-of-towners:
From Massachusetts: Wakefield-based cannabis curator Curaleaf Holdings pops the top on a new line of cannabis-infused seltzers.
From California: San Rafael-based, fashion-driven footwear brand Vionic straps on dual-density, three-zone athletic-recovery sandals.
From Texas: Austin-based fintech startup economyx.AI leverages machine learning to glean proprietary insights from U.S. economic news.
ON THE MOVE
Tyquana Henderson-Rivers
+ Tyquana Henderson-Rivers has been appointed to Plainview-based ACDS’ Board of Directors. She is the founder, president and CEO of Queens-based Connective Strategies.
+ Diana Walker Kubik has been named chief operating officer of the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County. She previously served as the nonprofit education agency’s finance officer.
+ Eugene Martin has joined Uniondale-based Sahn Ward Braff Koblenz as senior counsel concentrating in real estate law and transactions. He was previously senior counsel at Goetz Fitzpatrick in Manhattan.
+ Anastasia Hagan has been named assistant dean for institutional advancement at Central Islip-based Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center. She was previously director of development, medical education and alumni relations for Mount Sinai Health Systems in Manhattan.
+ Beth Zirogiannis has been named assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for the Levittown Public School District. She was previously director of English, reading and library media services in the Oceanside School District.
+ Dirk Benson has been named chief commercial officer, North America distribution group, for Melville-based Henry Schein. He was previously group president at Illinois-based Medline Industries.
+ Nadia Campbell-Mitchell has been named director of development for Amityville-based nonprofit Hope For Youth. She is a former interim executive director of Brooklyn-based Elders Share the Arts, among other nonprofit-management experiences.
+ Keith Scott has been hired as grants director for Garden City-based Family and Children’s Association. He was previously director of education at The Safe Center LI in Bethpage.
Like this newsletter? Innovate Long Island newsletter, website and podcast sponsorships are a prime opportunity to reach the inventors, investors, entrepreneurs and executives you need to know (just ask the LIBDC). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (The Graduate Edition)
Packed house: Hofstra University held its Spring 2022 graduation ceremonies May 22, live and in person.
Real deal: After two years of virtual graduations, in-person ceremonies are back.
Real world: Financial-survival tips for the recent post-grad.
$#!+’s getting real: Career experts advise college grads to read these books.
As real as it gets: Please continue supporting the amazing organizations that support Innovate Long Island, including the Long Island Business Development Council – five decades later, still a leading voice on Island socioeconomics. Check them out.
